Shameless Self-Promotion — National Review Online has published my op-ed on “Theocracy in America”. (Note: Its a rehash of former blog posts, so most EO readers will have seen it all before.)

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Aggies are #1? It’s No Joke — Move over Harvard–Texas A&M is now ranked as the “best” university in the country. So says The Washington Monthly magazine in its annual College Guide, which was designed as an alternative to US News & World Report and similar guides. Texas A&M takes the number one spot among national universities on the Washington Monthly list, while Princeton, U.S. News’s top-ranked school, comes in at 78.
UCLA and UC Berkeley place second and third respectively among national universities in the Washington Monthly rankings. Among liberal arts colleges, Presbyterian (SC), Smith (MA), and Wheaton (IL) take the top three spots respectively, far above their US News rankings. The magazine also ranks the best community colleges in America.

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Religion and Human Rights – Legal scholar Rob Vischer argues that “a belief in God is, in general, more supportive of a belief in human rights than atheism is.” (See here, here for Vischer’s claim and various rebuttals.)

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Online Theology Program — Reclaiming the Mind Ministries has a six course program of systematic theology that is created for lay-people. Online courses begin in September. Philosopher J.P. Moreland gives it a strong endorsement: “The Theology Program is the best thing I have seen to date and recommend it with great excitement.”

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Baptism Brawl — A few days ago Justin Taylor pointed out that Wayne Grudem had revised his view of baptism in his influential “Systematic Theology.” John Piper responded prompting Grudem to respond to the response. Soon after, Mark Dever, Aaron Menikoff, Abraham Piper, and Sam Storms all joined in the debate. It’s an interesting discussion but its real value is as a model for how to argue without rancor. Adrian Warnock has rounded up all the major posts on the debate.

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Internship Alert — My friends at Americans United for Life (AUL), a national public-interest bioethics law firm defending human life through vigorous legislative, judicial, and educational efforts, are looking for two highly-qualified and motivated law students to serve as legal externs during the fall semester.
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This ad for Epuron GmbH, created by the Nordpol+ Hamburg agency, won the Golden Lion for best advertising spot at the International Advertising Festival in Cannes. It’s weird at first, but it makes sense in the end. (HT: Neatorama)